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January 2008, Page 2

God and the Laptop

It is incredible that one time women, nuns to be more specific, were not allowed contact with the outside world. The Arco de Santa Catarina, one of La Antigua Guatemala’s landmark was built to prevent the nuns to be seen by the outsiders, quite possibly men, while they move from side of the street to the other side where they eat or pray; don’t know for sure which one.

I am glad to know that now nuns are allowed to walk freely in search for the best Wi-Fi spot in town so they can update their blogs. 😉

Real People, Real Miracles

That is exactly what Guatemala needs from the new Social Democratic government: Real people making real miracles (or at least real positive changes)!

Celebrations for the New President Álvaro Colom in La Antigua Guatemala

Even though the new Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom Caballeros, a 57-year-old industrial engineer and textile businessman, was sworn in for a 4-year term in Guatemala City in a ceremony at the Miguel Ángel Asturias National Theater, ceremonies and celebrations were held in the rest of the country too.

Talking About the Future Under the New Social Democratic Government

Like these two ladies, many wonder if the new Social Democratic cabinet will be more inclusive and responsive to the needs of the masses and hope that just having one woman Ministra and one indigenous Ministro (Secretary of an executive department) in a country where 60% of the population are indigenous and at least, if not more, 50% of the population are women, will not be a handicap when the times comes to address the needs of the aforementioned people, which in turn represent the majority of the population.

Grandma and Granddaugther doing Mandados

Grandma and granddaughter caught while doing mandados (errands). Above we can see the close relationship between the grandparents and their grandchildren which in Guatemala is one of the strongest links between humans.

Women’s Meeting in Central Park

A group of women met at Parque Central to discuss how expensive all the útiles escolares (school supplies) are for this coming school year and to pass tips on where to get the best prices. Just like Black Wizard says, school supplies should also be free.

Back to the Guatemalan School Year 2008

Public schools are free in Guatemala, minus some administrative fees. But, everything you need for school is not free; you need to buy a every single pencil and sheet of paper as well as any book or notebook, cuaderno in Spanish.

In the picture above, we can see parents with their children making the queues to purchase all the necessary school supplies at Librerí­a Castillo in La Antigua Guatemala; librerí­a is the Spanish term for bookstore or stationary store.

Make Sure You Know How to Read this Sign

If you have lived for a while in the ‘first world’, make sure you know how to read this sign. Sanitarios is the Spanish word used in Guatemala for bathrooms. Make sure to memorize it, otherwise you will be running like this little girl. 😉

Don’t you just love this Sanitarios sign… see how can I not suffer a fetish for signs in La Antigua Guatemala when even the most mundane sign is made to look aesthetically pleasing.

Eating Ice Cream in the Winter Season

I guess that many tourists like the opportunity to eat rich ice cream in the winter season in the open in La Antigua Guatemala’s streets. Last year I showed you two tourists taking a break in the late afternoon to eat ice cream in Enjoy it while it lasts!

Corner Detail of Spanish-tile Roof and Street Lamp

I will let you in a little secret: I was caught taking the photo of the watchers (the guard and the photographer) so I pretended I was not taking their photo, but rather they were actual visual noise on my attempt to capture the street lamp, the stop sign and the roof detail. It worked, they continued their voyeuristic activities and so did I. Boy oh boy, the things I do for you guys!

Alto, Watch Me

Have I told you about my sign fetish… I don’t know if a cure exist for this sing disorder, but for sure La Antigua Guatemala signs do not help; there are SO MANY of them.

Do you know the etymology of fetish? If not you can find in this site… go happy h

Ice-capped Volcanoes in La Antigua Guatemala

Sometimes you just have to ask yourself what kind of strange brew are the Canadians brewing way up north, heh. See, first they steal our bright minds; then they take our gold and buy out our postal service; they insert strange things into our antigüeño breakfast (bacon they call it); even our money is now Canadian (it reads Canadian Bank Note on the brand-new Quetzal bills); just to name a few things. In return they send salsa-dancing-craze Spanish students and the horrible and hostile weather. Come on, this is Guatemala, a tropical country in Central America, you know, the tiny land that impedes the Caribbean Island from moving over the Pacific Ocean. So what business does it have freezing-cold-ice-capping winds in La Antigua Guatemala. See, we don’t need no sticking ice-capped mountains and volcanoes in our gorgeous temperate-always-sun-shining-eternal-spring weather. Those volcanoes you see in the background are ice-capped (see larger image).

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